Regulatory capture, where special interests steer regulation away from public interest, is widely discussed, but its broader public consequences remain underexplored. We explore the relationship between perceived regulatory capture, public trust and pro-environmental behaviors using online survey data in China. Findings show that perceived material and information capture (the latter measured with a single scenario-based proxy) have significant negative associations with public trust in local (b = -0.154, -0.105) and central government (b = -0.087, -0.064). Direct associations with non-activist pro-environmental behaviors in the public sphere are consistently negative and supported by bootstrapped confidence intervals across specifications (material: beta = -0.066 to -0.082; information: beta = -0.036 to -0.047), whereas several corresponding private sphere associations are not. Indirect associations are supported only in selected models. These findings highlight the public implications of regulatory capture, distinguishing material and information capture, and extend understanding of public trust and pro-environmental behaviors.
Faced with diverse and complex demands from citizens, the government has consistently sought ways to enhance its ability to respond. Metaphorically, citizens' needs can be viewed as locks, and the government requires keys to unlock them. Artificial intelligence (AI) is an innovative new key offering a fresh paradigm for unlocking the door to high citizen satisfaction. Drawing on government responsiveness theory, this study applies a 2 & times; 3 between-subjects survey experiment to explore the impact of government response methods (traditional responses, AI-enabled responses) and citizen demand types (consultation, complaint/help-seeking, suggestions) on citizen satisfaction. Findings show that AI-enabled government responses significantly increase citizen satisfaction compared to traditional approaches. Among demand types, consultation yields the highest satisfaction, while suggestion results in the lowest. Further, the satisfaction level is significantly influenced by the interaction effect between response method and demand type. Perceived fairness mediates the relationship between government responses and citizen satisfaction, with citizen participation experience having a moderating effect. This study offers new insights into increasing citizen satisfaction from the perspective of government responses. It reveals the content-dependent nature of AI-enabled government responses, helping the government create unique AI response strategies and enhance digital interaction with citizens. (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)"(sic)", (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)"(sic)(sic)"(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(AI)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)"(sic)(sic)", (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)2 & times; 3(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)((sic)(sic)(sic)(sic) vs. AI(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic))(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)((sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic)/(sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic)(sic))(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic):1. (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), AI(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic); 2. (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)"(sic)(sic)(sic)"(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)"(sic)(sic)(sic)"(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic); 3. (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic); 4. (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)AI(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).
Social equity budgeting has gained increasing attention, yet research has largely focused on expenditures while neglecting revenue equity. This study contributes to the literature by examining the relationships between minority population size and local governments' reliance on exploitative revenues, and whether minority political representation moderates this relationship. Drawing on racial threat and political representation theories, we analyze data from 66 Florida counties between 2011 and 2019. Results show that counties with larger minority populations rely more heavily on exploitative revenues, but this relationship diminishes when minority political representation increases. These findings highlight how minority leadership could moderate fiscal practices that disproportionately burden minority communities. More broadly, this study advances the framework of social equity budgeting by shifting the focus from expenditure allocation to revenue generation. (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)2011(sic)(sic)2019(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)66(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).
The emergency management profession and discipline is increasingly embracing social equity as a core value, yet limited attention has been paid to whether local emergency management organizations possess the capacity to implement equity-focused practices. Drawing on the Capacity Building Framework, this exploratory study analyzes data from a national panel survey of US emergency managers to examine the organizational capacity to advance social equity through the lens of adaptive capacity. The findings reveal that while political, technical, financial, and managerial capacities matter, financial capacity is the most critical constraint. Respondents prioritized additional funding for personnel, community outreach and education, and the development of accessible public resources. The results highlight how resource scarcity shapes the pursuit of equity at the local level and underscores the need to align equity goals with investments in organizational capacity. This study contributes insight into the practical challenges emergency managers face in translating equity commitments into action.
This article presents a 150-year longitudinal analysis of the development of municipally owned corporations (MOCs) in Sweden, tracing their emergence in the mid-nineteenth century, their expansion during the growth of the welfare state, and their transformation in the era of market-oriented public sector reform. While MOCs are commonly discussed in relation to New Public Management (NPM) and contemporary forms of hybrid governance, this perspective overlooks their much longer historical trajectory. Drawing on three major Swedish government inquiries (1924, 1965, and 1982), complemented by secondary historical sources, we examine how MOCs have evolved across changing political, economic, and administrative contexts. The article conceptualizes MOCs as constitutional hybrids, organizations that combine elements of public authority and corporate governance by design, and employs insights from institutional theory and historical institutionalism to analyze their long-term development. The findings identify three historical phases characterized by changing functions, governance rationales, and institutional expectations. Across these periods, MOCs were repeatedly reinterpreted and adapted to new circumstances while maintaining their basic organizational form. The study contributes to the literature on hybridity by demonstrating that hybridity should be understood not merely as a contemporary consequence of public sector reform, but as a historically evolving institutional condition. We argue that the enduring presence of MOCs reflects the adaptive capacity of hybrid organizational forms, whose flexibility allows them to accommodate shifting demands for efficiency, legitimacy, accountability, and public value. By historicizing hybridity, the article offers a new perspective on institutional resilience, and the long-term evolution of public governance. I denna artikel presenteras en longitudinell analys av. utvecklingen av. kommunala bolag i Sverige & ouml;ver 150 & aring;r. Studien f & ouml;ljer framv & auml;xten av. denna typ av. bolag under mitten av. 1800-talet, deras expansion under v & auml;lf & auml;rdsstatens tillv & auml;xt, och deras omvandling under perioden av. marknadsorienterade reformer inom den offentliga sektorn. I litteraturen kopplas kommunala bolag ofta till s & aring; kallad New Public Management (NPM) och sentida reformer av. offentlig f & ouml;rvaltning, ett perspektiv som f & ouml;rbiser deras betydligt l & auml;ngre historiska utvecklingsbana. Med hj & auml;lp av. tre statliga utredningar (1924, 1965 och 1982), och befintliga historiska k & auml;llor, unders & ouml;ker vi hur kommunala bolag har utvecklats i skiftande politiska, ekonomiska och administrativa sammanhang. Artikeln beskriver kommunala bolag som konstitutionella hybrider, det vill s & auml;ga organisationer som genom sin konstruktion f & ouml;renar inslag av. offentlig myndighetsut & ouml;vning och bolagsstyrning. Med hj & auml;lp av. perspektiv fr & aring;n institutionell teori och historisk institutionalism analyseras deras l & aring;ngsiktiga utveckling. Resultaten identifierar tre historiska faser som k & auml;nnetecknas av. f & ouml;r & auml;ndrade funktioner, styrningslogiker och institutionella f & ouml;rv & auml;ntningar. Under samtliga perioder har kommunala bolag & aring;terkommande omtolkats och anpassats till nya f & ouml;ruts & auml;ttningar, samtidigt som deras grundl & auml;ggande organisationsform har best & aring;tt. Studien bidrar till litteraturen om hybridorganisationer genom att visa att hybriditet inte enbart b & ouml;r f & ouml;rst & aring;s som en samtida konsekvens av. NPM-reformer och liknande, utan som ett historiskt f & ouml;r & auml;nderligt institutionellt tillst & aring;nd. Artikeln visar att kommunala bolags best & auml;ndighet genom olika historiska perioder speglar hybridorganisationers anpassningsf & ouml;rm & aring;ga, som innefattar en flexibilitet som g & ouml;r det m & ouml;jligt f & ouml;r dem att m & ouml;ta skiftande krav p & aring; effektivitet, legitimitet, ansvar och samh & auml;llsnytta. Genom att analysera kommunala bolag som hybridorganisationer i historiskt perspektiv ger artikeln ett nytt perspektiv p & aring; institutionell robusthet och den l & aring;ngsiktiga utvecklingen av. offentlig styrning.
